Holiday Planner

I wanted to share a little Holiday Planner I made this past weekend. Isn’t it cute? Almost everything is from PTI (www.papertreyink.com), except the patterned paper is from Imaginesce. I think I’m going to make more of these up and give them out as little gifts. Of course this one is for me for next year. I already altered a little $1 notebook from Michael’s that I’m using to help me plan for the Christmas holiday this year.

Can you believe Christmas Eve is only a month away? Yikes!!! I sure can’t. Where has this year gone?

Supply List: Holiday Button Bits and Take Note stamp sets, Poppy and New Leaf buttons, Spring Rain cardstock, lined note pad all from Papertrey, Inc., patterned paper is from Imaginesce’s Polar Expressions line, sheer dotted ribbon from Hobby Lobby

Friends Are Blessings

My friend Dawn challenged me to use my heart CB folder, so I created this card following a sketch over at Cupcake Craft Challenges. It may be hard to see in the picture, but the Chocolate Chip layer has teeny tiny embossed hearts all over it. (Thanks for challenging me Dawn ... I did give my sister one of these heart CB embossing sets, but have no fear ... I still have one for myself too.)


The picture is not the greatest because I took it with my iPhone. It's so hard to get decent pictures of my projects with the time change because by the time I get home from work it is completely dark.

I love this pumpkin image, it's from the Tall Oaks set by Verve. The sentiment is a retired Stampin Up set and it says "When I count my blessings, I count my friends". Isn't that super sweet? And very true. The leaves are from a retired Stampin Up punch and the patterned paper is My Mind's Eye, it's really a Spring line, but the colors work for Fall as well.

Oh No She Didn't

My sister, Joy, posted a new comment on my prior post (which is almost a month old) saying she needed to see something new. Can you believe her? Well, actually it is kind of sad it's been so long since I've posted ... so I thought I'd share a very special project.



It's an altered tag book that Joy made for me and gave me when she was here on Labor Day weekend. Get this ... it stores and organizes all my Nestabilities. I call it Nesties 2 Go and I absolutely adore it. She used some gorgeous My Minds Eye Paper to alter each tag and then she attached magnetic sheets that hold the Nestabilities. Is she a genuis or what? And thankfully, she made it with room to grow ... this baby will hold 5 more sets than what I have. Here's what it looks like opened up.



Oh and she sent me some happy mail in late September with an adorable Cupcake Chef stamp that I've used a couple of times already and this really cool "magnetic wand". When I first glanced at the packaging, I thought it said Magic Wand, so that's what I call it.



It is a tool that you use to help you pick up the Nestie you want to use from the set. Isn't that neat? Here's a picturing showing me using it:




So, if you like what you see please take a minute to post a comment on Joy's blog. Oh, and you might want to let her know that you want to see something new from her too ... **wink**

Cupcakes Forever

Here is the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. I love the sketch. And given this is my last week on the design team, I had to use a cupcake image.

I would like to thank all the wonderful ladies on the CCC Design Team for all the fellowship and inspiration. They are all so fantastic and I feel truly blessed to be part of such an awesome group.

Supplies: Lockhart Cupcake image, Studio G sentiment, Orange dotted patterned paper from Stampin Up, My Mind's Eye plaid patterned paper, Taken With Teal and Chocolate Chip cardstock from SU, Ribbon and buttons from Papertrey, Martha Stewart border punch, Nestabilities, Copics

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Here’s a cute little goodie bag I made for this week’s Cupcake Craft Challenge. It’s my favorite style … cute and simple. I whipped this up after getting home from shopping for fall décor for my house. I bought some pumpkins and some orange cloth napkins and I spotted these yummy chocolate covered pretzels that had orange icing drizzled on them, so I picked up a container of them as well. I considered adding more embellishments, but I wanted the goodies inside to be easily spotted.

Be sure to check out what the other design team member’s came up with for this week’s challenge.

Supplies: Image, sentiment, and bag are from Papertrey, patterned paper is retired Stampin Up, ribbon is from Hobby Lobby, Martha Stewart border punch

Buttons and Stitching

Wow ... has it really been almost a month since I've posted on my blog?? I sure wish my work schedule would settle down a tad to give me more time to craft.

Okay, onto the challenge. This week we were to use buttons and stitching on our creations, so I pulled out my mat pack and paper piercer and got my faux stitching on. Don't you love this adorable cupcake chef image? My sister bought her at a stamp show and sent it to me. (Thanks SO much, Joy ... I absolutely love her and I hope you liked the thank you card I sent that I created the same day as I received the happy mail from you)

Get this ... the patterned paper on this card I received **free** from eclecticpaperie with my order. Daisy sent me 24 sheets of various Crate papers. Yup, 24 sheets. When I opened my pakcage, I was like ... I know I ordered quite a bit of paper, but surely it wasn't this much. lol. So, I made this card to send her thanking her for her generosity. I suspect she checked out my order history and was like this girl has a papercrafting addiction, so we owe her an extra large helping of patterned paper love.

Pearls and Swirls

Here's the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge, which was to use Pearls and Swirls on your project. Don't you love this adorable Whipper Snapper image? I figured since there's so much buzz about a really bad flu season this coming winter that I'd better make some get well type cards.

Anyway, once again I made a slight boo boo on my card. Did you find it? Well, I mistook the little chicken's feet as large flowers on her comforter. Guess when I caught on? Yup, you guessed it when I showed it to my Mom. Well at least this time she didn't point it out to me ... a little light bulb just went off and we had a good laugh about it.

Supplies: Get Well Chicken image by Whipper Snapper, Imaginesce Patterned Paper, PTI Stampers Select card base, primas, Martha Stewart Oval Pearls, Swirl CB Folder

Make It A Couch Potato Night

I wanted to share a project I submitted for the Papertrey Guest Star Stamper contest for August. I had *so* much fun making it. What is it? Well it's a little couch potato gift set I came up with based loosely on a popcorn bag. I don't have a pattern, but the base of the bag is 2 pieces of 8 1/2 X 10" Sweet Blush cardstock that I scored and adhered together with sticky strip. I seem to use this method a lot when making 3D projects like bags and boxes.

I staged my picture by making some popcorn and putting it an extra popcorn bag favor and tipped it over. My whole house smelled like popcorn ... yummy!!

Here's a picture of what the actual gift set would look like. Don't you love the polka dot couch?? I have so much fun when I use this set. I put the goodies (a bag of microwave popcorn, a large pack of M&Ms, and a Blockbuster gift card) in a cellophane bag I got at AC Moore in the candy decorating section. Embellished with ribbon and a cute little tag. Wouldn't this be a perfect gift for a friend that is recuperating from surgery, or a breakup ... or just going through a hard time? Or how fun would it be to make up some smaller popcorn bags for a Chick Flick night or a slumber party for your daughter and her friends? The possibilities are endless, really.

I emailed pictures of my project to my sister before submitting it and she said it inspired her to stay home from work, make some popcorn and watch TV ... lol ... totally cracked me up!! (You are too much, Joy!!)

CCC Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cupcake Craft Challenge 1st Birthday blog hop!

If you have just come from Pop's blog then you are in the right place! I am Sandy and all you need to do is leave me a comment to be eligible to win my blog candy and then you need to hop on over to Stephanie's blog and leave a comment there! Stephanie will then tell you which blog you need to visit next!

If you are not sure you are visiting the design team blogs in the right order you can go back to here and start from the beginning! There are 14 design team blogs in the blog hop and each one has some gorgeous candy to be won!

Don’t forget to enter this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge to be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes that our sponsors have provided to help us celebrate our 1st birthday!

Good Luck with your entries you have until 8pm Saturday 22nd August to enter and the winners will be announced on the Cupcake blog on Monday 24th August.

In honor of my blog candy prize (a brand new Cupcake stamp set from Inkadinkadoo), I thought I'd change my blog banner to {Got Cupcake Stamps?} for this week ... what do you think?


Oh and for my card for this week's Challenge, I *had* to use Cupcake Riley. He is probably my favorite cupcake themed stamp of all times. I paired him with a fun little sentiment stamp I got at AC Moore with a coupon a couple of weeks ago. And let's face it, most times, a cupcake will definitely help. The cardstock, paper and ribbon is from Taylor's Cupcake Key Ingredients Kit. I added a little cupcake brad that my friend Holly gave me last year ... isn't it adorable?? (Thanks again Holly, I love these things but haven't allowed myself to use them until now!!)

Enjoy the blog hop and good luck!! There are tons of prizes to be won.

Sketch and Color Challenge

It was Tammy's turn to issue the challenge over at the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog. I love the fun layout she came up with and of course I'm a huge brown and blue fan. (Great challenge, Tammy!!)

I needed to make a card for a friend who just built a new home, so I thought this image worked great. My friend's Mom is living with she and her husband, so that's what made me add the 3 buttons. I've had the ribbon forever and thought I'd finally use it. I think this card would also work as a congratulations card for a friend expecting a baby, so I made a couple of extra cards.

Stop by and see what the rest of the Design Team came up with, here.

Oh and next Monday is the 1 year anniversary of the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog so be sure to get in on the fun ... trust me ... you don't want to miss it.

Beach Themed Shaker Gift Bag

It was my turn to come up with a challenge on the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog and I chose a beach theme. I’ve wanted to make a shaker for a while, so I paired this retired Stampin Up stamp set called Shore Thing with some sand I got from the beach. The little sand piper image is my favorite from the set, so I embossed the birds then I sponged a sky and stamped some sand, which you can’t see it now that I put actual sand in the shaker.

I had intended to make a card, but when I got my patterned paper out, I had some scraps that would work great to alter a plain white gift bag. I love the layout I came up with, but decided to add the stitched chocolate chip ribbon and WOW what a difference that made. I added some bashful blue stitched ribbon to close the bag.

Oh and here’s a link to a great shaker tutorial on Amy’s blog, Prairie Paper and Ink. I will definitely be making more shakers in the future. They add a lot of fun to your project.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team came up with, here.

The Little Yellow Company is the sponsor this week and one lucky person will win a free digital image.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

This week it was Stephanie’s turn to issue the Cupcake Craft Challenge. She challenged us to use pink, green and brown on our projects AND an animal image that included flowers. Well I knew EXACTLY what image I was going to use … this adorable Oh Beehave image I got a while ago through the PIF Image swap. Isn’t it adorable?

I didn’t intend to create the little grassy scene, but this image really lends itself to that. The grass slowly took over the bottom half of the image layer; so, of course I had to sponge the top half with a sky.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team did here. (Great challenge, Steph!!)

On My Couch

I am absolutely crazy about Papertrey Ink's new stamp set called On My Couch (and the On My Couch Additions) designed by Lisa Johnson. I had so much fun playing around with all the fun image combinations. And there are so many clever sentiments, but my favorite has to be "potato optional". We all feel the need to be a couch potato from time to time.

Anyway, here's the first card I made with my PTI goodies that arrived Saturday morning. I used the same layout from my Penguin Christmas card, but this card is smaller. It fits in a Stampin Up small open end envelope.

Christmas in July

It was Paula's turn for the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week and she challenged us to make a Christmas card. Pretty challenging indeed given it's been in the 90s here. But ... I'm really grateful for it because it helped me get a jump start on my holiday cards.

I pulled out my Glitter Christmas Stack and paired it with this adorable penguin image. I have been wanting to make a long card and given the width of the image, this card quickly fell into place.


Here's a closeup of the image so you can see the sparkle from the gelly roll pen I used on the lights, part of the hats and the icy ground I created.

Be sure to check out the wonderful cards that the design team created. Hopefully it will inspire you to start on your holiday cards too.

Blossoms and Butterflies

Here's the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. It was Liza's turn and her theme was Blossoms and Butterflies. I have had this Chatterbox paper for a while and thought it would be perfect. Well, after I made my card, submitted it for publication on the CCC blog, I showed it to my Mom ... who was quick to ask when I was planning on adding a butterfly. I responded that the paper has butterflies and flowers on it, but apparently they are all flowers. Sorry for the butterfly-less card ... lol. Or is there anyone else out there that sees butterflies and flowers on this gorgeous paper??

Supplies: Chatterbox patterned paper, Certainly Celery CS and GP white, Memory Box image, sentiment from Taylored Expression, Primas, large brads, white candy dots, white GG ribbon, Nesties

Cupcake Craft Challenge

It was Lisa's turn for the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week and her choice was Black and White. Hopefully I didn't deviate too much from the challenge because I added some color on the apron image. However, all the other elements are black and white. This one was quite a challenge for me because I don't have any patterned paper that is black and white. So I pulled out my Flannel Plaid background stamp and I loved how that panel turned out. I've really neglected my background stamps lately. So thanks Lisa for making me remember how much I enjoy using them.

It's Rainin' Cupcakes

How adorable is this image and sentiment??? I *had* to have it as soon as I saw it on the Hambo Stamps website. And I love that it's digital because it meant I got it within hours of buying it. I took the picture in this angle so you can see that I used a Stardust Gelly Roll pen on the umbrella, rain coat, hat and cupcakes. I sent this card to my sister and she got it on Saturday, so I can finally post it. It's so hard when you make a card you're excited about, but can't post it because you want it to be a total surprise.

Funny story about the day I bought the image. I had stopped at a local cupcake shop called Coastal Cupcakes on my way home from work. I got 6 cupcakes that were all different and when I got home I cut them in half and ate 1/2 one of each. Don't worry they are on the small side. So, it kind of did "rain" cupcakes on me that day, but luckily I wasn't dreaming.

It's Summer

This week it was Kathrin’s turn to come up with the Cupcake Craft Challenge and she challenged us to do a summer themed card. How fun!! And the timing couldn’t have been more perfect because I had just gotten this adorable digital image from Hambo Stamps. And guess what?? It was free. Yup, I said free. Of course after looking at the free image, I bought 2 other digital images, but that’s just what seems to happen to me. I find stamps I *must* have morning, noon and night.

Check back tomorrow for a card I made with one of the 2 Hambo digital stamps I bought.

Oh and sorry about the wonky picture. I recently borrowed a digitial photography book from one of the guys I work with ... hopefully it will help me take straighter pictures. The color and clarity of the picture was great though, so that's good.

Cupcake Craft Challenge

Happy Monday everyone!! Here is a card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. Love the sketch and isn't this little Fairy image adorable?? Go check out the other digital images available here. They are so much fun.

Supplies: Crate Patterned Paper, Barely Banana and Pink Pirouette CS from SU, GP White, Candy Buttons from Taylored Expressions, Pink ribbon from SU, Nesties

Father's Day Gift Bag

Here is my project for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge, which was to make a Father's Day themed project that wasn't a card. What a great challenge that Jeanette came up with because I needed a gift bag for my Dad's gift, so I knew exactly what I was going to make. I borrowed my sister's Stampin Up Wanted set while I was in Maryland and paired it with some My Mind's Eye paper I got from Michael's. I stamped the tissue paper with 2 of the star shaped stamps in the set in green and brown to match the paper. I don't have a pattern for the bag, but all I did was score 2 sheets of 12 x 12 patterned paper at 1 1/2" on the top and bottom and 2 1/2" in from each side, which is based on the size of what was going in the bag. I folded down the top to show off the other side of the patterned paper. I inked the horse image once and stamped it 3 times to make it look like the horse was moving. I've seen this done many times with this image and loved the effect. For the handles, my sister had a store bag that had brown handles, so I punched holes in my bag with her Cropadile and used them on this project.

What is wrong with this picture?? It's actually my initial project, but I discovered a boo boo. I stamped the horses wrong ... on this bag my horses are running backwards ... too funny!!

When I Said I Do

Here is another card I made with my domestic themed images from InStyle Stamps, which were perfect for May cards since it's the month of Mother's Day. Apparently poor Jane feels about laundry the way I do about painting. The image name is actually "Jane2" because there's a different view of Jane in another image. I couldn't come up with a good sentiment for this card like I did yesterday's, so I searched online and found the perfect sentiment to go with it. Doesn't this totally crack you up? It sure makes me chuckle and my daughter loved it too. Here's a link to the site I used.

I followed Tamara's card sketch for this week, what a great sketch!! I used some fun Chatterbox patterned paper I've had for a while and coordinating SU cardstock. Instead of ribbon, I used the twine that Stampin Up had in their holiday mini catalog to keep up with the laundry theme. Oh, do you like my semi-new Nesties?? They're the large deckle rectangles. I've had them for like a month, but this is the first time I used them.

Don't forget today is the InStyle Stamps Blog Hop. I was too busy to create a project for this month, but I can't wait to see what the rest of the design team came up with ... it's a beach theme this month ... how fun!! You're going to love the new images that are debuting. There are links to all the design team members on my right side bar. The fun starts at 12:00 noon EDT and as always there will be prizes, so be sure to check it out.

The Original Multi-tasker

It’s been a busy month for me, between traveling to Austin and working remotely with resources on opposite ends of the country and world AND trying to get my dining room painted, I haven't had much time to stamp. But I finally got a chance to play with a couple of InStyle Stamps images. So today and tomorrow, I’ll be sharing my creations with you. For today’s card, I used this utterly adorable Mary image. The first thought that popped into my head when I saw this image was: Mom ... the original multi-tasker. So that's the sentiment I used on my card, which is computer generated.

I followed last week's sketch challenge on Splitcoast (SC228). What a fun sketch!! Perfect for this fun Paper Studio patterned paper I got when I went to Hobby Lobby. The 3 different matching patterns were perfect for this week's sketch. Oh and I paper pieced Mary's dress, which was this week's Wednesday challenge on the InStyle Stamps blog.

Make A Wish

Here's the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge hosted by Erin. Erin's daughter is turning 2 and she wanted us to use 2 colors + a neutral, 2 shapes, and 2 ribbons on our card. We could add other embellishments if we wanted.

I actually started out following this week's House Mouse Sketch Challenge that I discovered from this adorable card on Dawn's blog. Dawn's card totally inspired me to use the new House Mouse stamp I bought at Hobby Lobby when I was in Austin for work a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it adorable?? I couldn't quite adhere to the sketch because of the size of my image.

The colors I used are inspired by the Color Throwdown challenge from this past week, but I deviated a little so I could use some of my Chatterbox paper.

Cupcake Craft Challenge 40

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge is a great sketch from DT member Donna. (Love the sketch, Donna!!) I love sketch challenges, don't you?



Here's the card I made following the sketch. I used an adorable Changito image I got from Stamper's Dream and some scraps of My Mind's Eye paper. It might be hard to tell in the photo, but I used my Stardust clear Gellyroll pen on the rain elements, so it's pretty sparkley in real life.

Melanie CD Holder

It's my turn to host the Method Monday Challenge over on the InStyle Stamps blog. I've been wanting to make a CD holder for a long time and decided this would be the perfect project for this challenge. I used Melanie for my image ... doesn't she look like she's having a blast? This is another image that totally reminds me of my childhood, so I thought she would be perfect to create a CD holder that I will store all my favorite childhood pictures. I'll scan them in because they belong to my Mom. Many of the photos I chose are in a scrapbook I made for my sister Joy for her 40th birthday from several years ago.

List of Supplies: Melanie Image from InStyle Stamps, Chatterbox patterned paper, Bashful Blue CS, GP White CS, Sheer Dotted Ribbon from Michael's, Velcro Circle (cut in half), Pop Dots, Tombo Adhesive, 1/2" wide double sided tape, scissors, 1-1/4 circle and corner rounder punches, Cutter with scoring blade.

My tutorial is based on this one from Splitcoast Stampers, but I did make a couple of changes.

Step 1: Cut cardstock at 7 7/8 and discard the small scrap of paper. Cut on the short side at 3 inches. You'll have 2 pieces of CS both 11 inches long.



Step 2: Score the larger piece 3 inches in from each side. For the 3" x 11" paper, score at 3 inches in on one side and 3 1/8 inches in on the other side.



Step 3: Adhere glue dots as shown, which will make a pocket to hold your CD.



Step 4: Adhere the 3 inch section just above the 2nd score line on the larger piece of paper and then fold the flap up.



Step 5: Use the SU 1-1/4" circle punch to make a slit to make removing the CD from the holder eaiser.



Step 6: Attach a 1/2 of a velcro dot for opening and closing the project.




Step 7: Use the SU corner rounder punch on the top edge of the project. Optionally you can add some patterned paper to the back section and use the corner rounder on it.



Step 8: Assemble the front of the project with your image and other embellishments as desired.


I hope I have inspired you to make one of these fun projects.

5 Embellishments Challenge

This week's challenge over at the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog is from design team member Caryn. Her challenge is to use 5 different embellishments on one project, to represent her 5 wonderful children ... isn't that sweet?

I've had this digital image for a while and I decided she'd be perfect for this challenge. The 5 embellishments I used on my card are: ribbon, primas, dew drops (they are used on the center of each flower), glitter (on the flowers on the image ... even on the little flower on the purse) and rhinestones on the sentiment.

What a fun challenge. Be sure to check out the other design team members' creations and then I challenge you to make a project and upload it to the CCC blog. Who knows ... you might be in the top 5.

Supplies: Image from Grab A Doodle Do, Sweet Slumber DSP, SU Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze CS, GP White, Mega Curved Rectangle Nesties, Primas, Dew Drops, Martha Stewart Rhinestones, Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon from SU.

Award

I got this award from Caryn, one of the fabulous members of the Cupcake Craft Challenges design team. (Thank so much, Caryn ... it is such an honor to receive this from you.) It has taken me a week or so to decide who I should pass this award on to.

There are so many talented bloggers out there that I could choose to give this to, but I have to choose 5. So, I'd like to pass this award on to the following amazing women:

Dawn at My Stamping Thyme
Denise at The Paper Landscaper
Jen at Taylor Made by Jen Marie
Maria at Stampin Inspiration
Stephanie at Stephanie's Stampin Spot

Each of these blogs is chock full of wonderful projects ... and I have gained so much inspiration and lots of smiles from them.

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

It’s the last Friday of the month, so that means it’s time for the InStyle Stamps Blog Hop. This month’s theme is “Contain Yourself”. We were tasked with making or altering some kind of container … how fun, right? My project is a combination of Melissa’s Method Monday challenge from last week and a cute little purse project that my sister Joy made (check out her new blog, here).

When I make a 3D type project like this, I decide what goodies I’m going to put inside before I choose the image, color scheme and embellishments. I found some adorable wine themed items in the $1 bins at Michael’s recently and decided Marti would be the perfect image for this challenge. I based the size of my bag on the items that I was putting in it. That’s the cool thing about making your own packaging, you know everything is going to fit perfectly. I love how this project turned out. I think it will be a great little gift set for any wine lover or as favors for a wine tasting, that sort of thing.

Be sure to check out the blogs of all the rest of the Design Team (links are on my sidebar to the right). And then go to the ISS blog to vote for your favorite project. The designer of the project with the most votes will win a prize. And of course there will be prizes for all you blog hoppers out there in blog land. Note that in addition to voting, you will need to leave a comment on the blog post with the poll on it in order to be entered to win the grand prize.

Other important info about today’s blog hop:

It will run from 12pm EST to 11pm EST on the ISS forum (see link above).

There will be mini contests with prizes throughout the day on the blog hop thread on the forum.

The contest will remain open until 11:59pm EST on Saturday, April 25th, and the winners will be announced on Sunday, April 26th.




Here's a picture of just the bag. The bag closes by use of a Velcro Square. Marti is popped up and only adhered on the flap layer.

Supplies: Marti image from InStyle Stamps, Sweet Always DSP, Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip CS, Primas, Martha Stewart Rhinestones, Bazzill Brads, Copic and SU Markers, SU Eyelet Border Punch

Cupcakes Forever

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge is a sketch challenge and here is my take on it. I knew I had to use this fun sentiment from my new Studio G acrylic stamps. The cupcake trio is one of the $1 stamps I found at Michael's, they had all kinds of fun cupcake themed goodies last time I was there ... score!! Of course my main image is Cupcake Riley, I love that image. The smaller cupcakes on the top section of the card were stamped twice, so I could pop dot them up to give dimension.

My sister recently pointed out that I haven't been listing the supplies I used on my projects, so I plan to remedy that starting now. (Thanks, Joy!!)

Supplies: Cupcake Riley by Hanna Stamps, Other cupcake images from Michael's, Penny Lane patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, GP White CS, Red sheer dotted ribbon from Michael's, Tag Trio Nestabilities

Thankful Thursday

It's my turn for the Thankful Thursday sketch challenge over at the InStyle Stamps Blog and I had to use this adorable Gidget image. Doesn't she look like she's having fun?? I knew when I saw the image I wanted to make a card with her for my sister, Joy. We are extremely close and I have so many fond memories of our childhood. But even though we're all grown up now, we still can be silly and goofy with one another. To me, this Gidget image conveys that so well.

I have had this Pumpkin Pie Rick Rack for a while, but hadn't been able to use it until now because I realized it perfectly complimented the Sweet Always paper, so I ordered some more of that and it came on Monday.

I had issues creating a sketch, so I decided to use this one from our fabulous sketch queen, Maria. Here's a link to her post using the sketch. She is such an inspiration and so very supportive to the entire design team.

Anyway, the one minor variation I made was to create a sentiment with strips. It just fits better with all the other elements I have on my card.

I hope this has inspired you to make a card for the challenge.

Anyone Else Feel This Way

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge was a 1 layer card, which was kind of tough. For me the secret was to use a patterned paper card base, plus thankfully we could embellish any way we wanted. I decided to use my new Curved Mega Rectangle nesties to make the card base more fun that I *had* to have thanks to all the wonderful creations my friend Denise has been posting lately. (You're quite the enabler, girl!!) The inspiration for using this adorable American Arts image was a sign at the local gym here in town ... it reads ... Swimsuit Season R U Ready? I thought to myself ... who could be ready with all the yummy Easter candy that has to be eaten, especially those Resee's Peanut Butter Eggs.

Be sure to check out the cards the other Design Team members made and then why not make a card of your own?

For Peeps Sake Fry Box

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge was to use at least 3 folds in your project, so I knew I'd be making a 3-D project. I decided to make a little Easter themed fry box based on a project from Nichole Heady's blog here. And as I sat down with the Peeps I was designing the project around ... I was like dang ... even the company that makes Peeps love pink and brown as a color combination. So I used the brown and pink paper in my pack of Tiny Dancer paper from My Mind's Eye that I got from Stamper's Dream. I love this adorable Peeps stamp and sentiment from A Muse.

I plan to give this little project to my daughter and make a 2nd one for her friend that is away from her family for Easter this year. We're planning on having lunch out some where in downtown Wilmington on Easter after church. Should be fun.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CCC Design Team came up with ... there's a link to each of their blogs under my Cupcake Craft Challenges Design Team blinkie.